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This sort of thing fascinates me. It seems like there was some sort of amusement park in every section of town at some point. I remember a few years ago reading about Ludlow Lagoon in Ludlow, KY. The intersection where the front gate was approximately housed sounded oddly familiar. As it turns out, it was exactly where my supervisor (at the time) had just purchased a house. Weird, huh? Another sort-of-irony has happened again. I was trolling through coaster-count.com (one day I'll figure out how many rides I've been on... just not today) and I found a listing for Chester Park. This listing included nearly ten coasters. Out of curiosity, I Googled the name and found that it sits in a part of town in which I frequent: Spring Grove Ave, near the McDonalds and the Honda dealership. I found some things interesting about this article. Primarily, the final blow for Chester Park was that people were more attracted to Coney Island. This is presumably due to the fact that the American infrastructure had advanced by the post-WWII era that people from that part of town could even get to Coney. The article also mentions that during the Great Depression era, patrons preferred to forget about their worries by going to the movies rather than amusement parks. Does this tie into Kings Island? Well, it does. Loosely. You know how we always say that The Racer was the father of the "Second Golden Age" of roller coasters? Well, we've always said that only a handful of coasters were built between the late 1930's and 1972, and The Racer reignited an interest in these rides. However, no one really asks why the interest suddenly went away. The truth is that there is no one answer. However, the story of Chester Park is a good example of a large contributing factor into what happened. Word War One ended... people were home, America was the victor, life was good! Then the depression hit. No park anywhere was truly in a good position to expand. Later World War II rationing made it nearly impossible. America emerged again victorious and the country was stronger than ever. The amusement industry recovered like any other, but had a lot of dust to shake off. Nearly 20 years of near-bankruptcy for many parks left them with a stripped sense of identity. Then Walt Disney walks in and revolutionizes everything the world had known about amusement parks. Roller coasters, after many years of silence, simply fell through the cracks. Chester Park was a casualty of all of the contributing factors listed above. Check out the article - it's an awesome read: http://www2.cincinnati.com/blogs/ourhistory/2012/09/19/chester-park-was-once-citys-top-entertainment-destination/

I was just thinking that in the Banshee/Bat area, they should have the Banshee herself walking around for some good scares! Kind of like how Dent Schoolhouse has Charlie walking around.

Hey, I just discovered Skeleton Crew does perform today! Yay! I could only find listings online for Fridays and Saturdays so I assumed they were off Sunday. But, there are shows at 2, 4, and 6 KI Five are here too, in special black shirts and orange ties.

I'm not a "coaster credit" type of guy, so take this for what it's worth. To me, having a new style of trains is a completely different ride experience. I'd consider this more of a new credit than riding a relocated ride in two locations.

Marry her right now!

I think these cars are from a flying Jetson ride from Hannah B. The black bar could be pushed forward or back to let you lift them in the air.

Magenta Lizard, you just made my day. I've been wondering how I was going to stomach Haunt to see the show. Crisis averted!

I will give you all credit for riding more coasters than me.

Then in theory, you could only count FoF one time, no matter where you rode it, or any other cloned rides anywhere else right? I mean its the same track layout just in different place.....

A. Welcome to KIC! B. If it did, they'd probably not be right. The park doesn't want people to see the lines are too long and then not come. It hurts attendance, it hurts Fast Lane passes, it hurts per caps. Attendance is already down, at least chain wide in the last quarter....

If each side was truly different then I'd count it as two separate credits. Like Dueling Dragons at Universal, they race and duel with one another (or at least used to) but are completely different rides. As for the RM makeovers those are completely different from the Mantis/Rougarou situation. There the track and layout is changing drastically plus going from wood track to steel. Whereas Rougarou is just getting new trains on the exact same track with the same layout.

Halloween Haunt needs a mascot/icon that gets its own house as well....I like the Caretaker at the gate. He's fun but I don't hang out at the gate for long. But maybe the "King's" Island Creative team can whip up an overseer and a house that changes every couple of seasons to accommodate a series of phobias....Maybe a mad doctor....I'll call him Dr. Phear...who has the cure for all of your fears. First year spiders...next year snakes....etc. Or maybe each year an icon from one pf the houses....like Sam the Butcher one year or (maybe a clown from Carnevil)...heck this year Banshee should have popped up all over the park in houses and zones.

^ And you know this because you are the king of "King Island" afterall.

Lets put it this way. If you never rodE Mantis, would you say you did just because you rode Rog...

I found it particularly annoying because I had to dress for a 20-some degree temperature span. Since I don't like carrying stuff, and frankly don't really trust their lockers, I couldn't partially change clothes like I usually have on days when it's been much cooler in the mornings than afternoons. At the beginning of the night, I was sweating even though I wore my hoodie around my waist, and by the end of the night I was really wishing I wore my long underwear. At least as the season goes on, it should be more evenly cold. As for the alcohol, yes, people can get it at the park, but in that case in particular, the mark-up should keep nearly anyone from seriously overindulging. It costs about the same at KI for one cider as an entire six-pack at the store. If the closed gate policy does keep people less under the influence, I'm personally for it. I can see why people might be much more likely to want to get drunk at Haunt than during the days at a park filled with kids (for some people their own children, who they are less likely to bring with them for Haunt).

Unless it is Philip (the one who replaced Sam near the end of the season), I probably couldn't guess. With the heavy makeup, zombie expressions, and especially the face coverings, I was having trouble making out faces at all*. I noticed the one in the dreadlock-style wig/hat from Cirque looked like Philip in body type/height, but it's just so hard to tell. *Not to mention heavy smoke by the third performance. They should probably get some big fans to clear the area because it can't be good for the performers to be sucking that in while working so hard, whether it is toxic or not. Edited to add: you are going to have to spill who came back, because it IS going to drive me nuts otherwise

Check out Don on Local 12 talkin' Haunt http://www.local12.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/halloween-haunt-opens-at-kings-island-17907.shtml Yes, the article says "King's Island's." It's okay. You'll live.

What would you have done with Rolling Thunder--a racing coaster where each side was unique? Some said two, some said one, Terp still sobs.

Accurate wait time estimates don't help sell virtual line skipping systems. See, particularly, Six Flags.

Was at the park last night...didn't do any Haunts but I did take my girlfriend who is deathly terrified of roller coasters. She agreed to try them for me since she knows I love them so much. What did she want to ride first? Diamondback. I wanted to start her out small. I had The Bat, Adventure Express, or Backlot Stunt Coaster in mind but she wanted to do the tallest and fastest one first. She absolutely loved it, and then we rode The Beast, Vortex, Flight of Fear, and Banshee after that- she loved those ones too and was so glad she overcame her biggest fear. She just texted me and is trying to get me and her to go back out there today and possibly Cedar Point before the end of the season. For me and for her, it truly is #KIBestDay

Yeah, I'm bored so I made this have a silly title... Last night I went to Haunt - I took off Friday nights from work so I could do so - and I am so excited to go again! First of all: I say this every year, but since it was the first night, nothing scared me...at all. I rarely flinched. But, the mazes have a lot of potential this year. Within an hour, we knocked off Delta Delta Die, KillMart, Urgent Scare, and Slaughterhouse. The longest we waited was five minutes. Delta Delta Die really didn't impress me too much. The last time I did it was when it was Massacre Manor, and they changed nothing except for the theme, which was meh. KillMart has a LOT of potential. There are so many good hiding spots for scare actors (except none of them utilized it very well). My favorite part is the giant pillow pet...watch out for what's under there! This is that one maze that is just really funny and interesting, not scary. Urgent Scare is the same old same old. Slaughterhouse disappointed me greatly. Being the "biggest" maze, it sure didn't feel like it. There were no attempts at scares and in the infamous black tarp thingy, there was nobody! After a few rides on Banshee and Diamondback, we knocked out Club Blood (stupid like usual). As it got darker, we did Tombstone Terror-Tory, Board to Death, CarnEVIL and Madame Fatale's to close out the night. So, all in all, we did every maze except CornStalkers and Wolf Pack, along with a night ride on The Beast. Highs of the night: KillMart's awesome theme. A lot of detail put into it. Definitely the best at KI and on par with Dent Schoolhouse props and setting. Madame Fatale's is really cool. I love looking up to see the large space that once was used for The Crypt. That's it. No joke, that's it. Lows of the night: Lack of scare actors. Yes, I know, first night. It will get much better as the season goes on. I feel like most of the mazes were somewhat cheap and badly done. I didn't notice it last year, but CarnEVIL is just not good anymore. It's too bright, the clowns didn't blend in at all, and even the whole mirror maze part was not used to scare. Boo! Board to Death consists mostly of large curtains with domino patterns, a deck of cards, etc. Not many big sets. Delta Delta Die is just Massacre Manor but with drunk college girls and beer cans laying around all over the place. You get the point. Roaming actors; very nonexistent. Instead of trying to scare people, most of them just menacingly walked around and blowing on people's necks. Whoa, that's just downright evil. "Nightmare Alley" had no actors at all. But I have to give props to the amazing detail; wow, eyeballs hanging from trees?! No fog or Haunt surprises on The Beast. The guy at the front by the fountains usually does such a good job but he didn't talk too much last night. Overall decorations. There are not many and there's mostly just hay and scarecrows. I'm not being a Debbie Downer. Haunt is still an awesome part of Kings Island and last night was still fun. But it just seems poorly set up and very cheap. I think they spent the most time doing KillMart and didn't even worry about anything else! Still, I see plenty of potential for later this year. I will be back, of course...and working tonight for it!

Hello everyone! I got back from a trip to Kings Island yesterday, Saturday September 20th, 2014. First off, here's my ride rating system: 10=Incredible 9=Excellent 8=Very Good 7=Good 6=Decent 5=Meh 4=Bad 3=Really Bad 2=Very Bad 1=Fail 0=EPIC FAIL Our group consisted of me, my best friend, another friend, and my sister. Though for most of the day it was just me and my best friend. We arrived at the park around 6:30PM (which felt weird since I am so used to going to Kings Island during the day) and found a pretty darn huge crowd. Uh-oh. We split up once we finally got in the park around 7:30 (me and best friend wanted to ride rides, they were there for Haunts), and headed for our first ride...also spoiler, we (me and my best friend) didn't do any actual haunts but my sister and her friend (also a friend of mine) got ALL of them thanks to Fright Lane+Skeleton Key. RIDE #1: Diamondback Wait: 45 Minutes Well, passing by this and realizing the line was supposed to only get longer, we hit Diamondback ASAP. The crew did a really good job getting trains out and keeping the line moving, so not much "Diamondstacking" occured...only like 3-5 times at most, I think. We rode in the very back, and by the time we got on, it was nightfall already so this was a night ride. They don't call it Diamond "BACK" for nothing. The airtime in the back of the ride is epic, and since it was night it was slightly harder but not impossible to see where we were going (though since I knew the layout well already there wasn't any suprises for me...) and at the end, the splashdown got my left arm wet. An awesome ride to start the night. Score: 10/10 While riding Diamondback, we saw another ride me and my friend really were hoping to do doing test runs, then opening up. We used the bathroom and headed over to... RIDE #2: WindSeeker Wait: 30 Minutes FINALLY!!! After 3 years of failures, I have at last ridden WindSeeker! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Also, the line looked way worse than 30 minutes (it was overflowing) but since WindSeeker takes 64 riders at once it moves FAST...when it moves that is- loading/unloading takes a bit and the ride cycle is somewhat long. The lighting package here is also gorgeous, even more so in person than it looked in photos and videos. During out wait, my sister and her friend showed up in the same line and she stated she had a gift for me. What could it be!?!? When I actually got on the ride, I actually got a bit nervous. 270 feet up (at least) and only a bar to really hold the weight of 2 people, both of whom were pretty large (my friend, though not really "fat", is a bit over 300 pounds and I'm around 210) though once we got up top the epic music and view distracted me enough to calm me down very well. My friend, however, was actually somewhat scared and he does not have a fear or heights- plus he noticed the weight limit sign when we got off and stated he was a bit over it. As for my overall opinion of the ride, I liked it a lot even if it was a bit intimidating...though I have a soft spot for swing rides. I don't think I can take Texas Skyscreamer though- 400 feet up with just chains!?!? Uhh... Score: 9/10 After WindSeeker, we filled up our drink cups and drank, then we split up again and me and my friend headed across the park and went to Banshee. Since we had souvineer drink cups but my friend was pretty broke so we couldn't get a locker (sister paid for the drinks), but since this was our last visit in 2014 (Kinda ), he said that we had nothing to lose if they were stolen so we ditched them at the entrance...but later I went back and no one had taken them, so I do still have my cups. Also, I thought I saw Fireworks, but it was just Sling Shot- neat lighting on that ride too. As for Banshee itself... RIDE #3: Banshee Wait: 50 Minutes HOLY CAPACITY BATMAN! Banshee had FAR more people in its line than Diamondback did, yet only a 5 minute longer wait! The q-line night visuals are awesome as well. As for the ride itself...it is better at night, and the cool lighting effects were awesome, but I didn't quite see the "transformation" the park promised us when this ride was announced. It was the same general Banshee ride feelings, but at night with some cool lighting. Still, Banshee kicks butt already during the daylight with its inversions, forcefulness, and intensity, so any bonus from the night is just icing on a awesome cake. Score: 10/10 After Banshee, we decided to check the line for Drop Tower, which was not running on either of my other KI visits (opening day or in May)... RIDE #4: Drop Tower- Scream Zone Wait: 30 Minutes Well, this 2 firsts. I had never ridden Drop Tower at night...or by myself, for that matter. My friend, who as I stated earlier is pretty big, could not fit Drop Tower. So I had to ride a 315-foot drop ride all by myself, which was even more nerve-wracking than WindSeeker since I was with strangers...but Ferris Wheel @ Indiana State Fair was still way worse BTW. And the view was incredible. And the Drop, always brings relief. A great ride I still enjoyed but wish my friend could have done it with me. Score: 9/10 After Drop Tower, we headed towards... RIDE #5: Vortex Wait: 10 Minutes Well, the crowds were starting to "die" down (Haunt PUN LOLZ ) and since Vortex has good capacity anyway it had a short wait. We rode in 5-1 of course. My friend fit this one easily, and the restraints I actually realized are honestly pretty good for OTSR's. The ride itself? While I could just barely make the track out ahead of us, it was still intense and forceful...also as usual for older Arrows, a bit rough. Not too bad though. There was solid air on the first drop as well even if it paled to what Diamondback was doing earlier. A great ride slightly enhanced by the darkness. Score: 9/10 In spite of the crowds, we felt were were making good time, and my friend had never ridden... RIDE #6: Backlot Stunt Coaster Wait: 10 Minutes Well, after a short wait, this ride suprised me yet again- I didn't expect it to get this much of a boost from the night ride, but the cop car chase scene and helicopter scenes are far better at night since the lights stand out more. And all the remaining special effects were working on top of the usual thrill-packed tiny coaster. A very solid ride overall. Score: 8.5/10 This would be a good spot to point this out- earlier in the day, Toyota had rented out the park, and from what I had heard some of the ride ops were staffed from when they showed up (10AM) to 1AM. Yikes! That is a nightmare shift. Yet the ride crews were still getting trains out quickly and safely, and doing good spiels. I have to give those guys some props for that. And then we had just enough time (and energy) for one last ride, and we waited 15 minutes for my sister to do one last Haunt so we could all meet up. And then we rode... RIDE #7: The Beast Wait: 40 Minutes (was 20-25, but we wanted Front Row!) Yep. Waited for front row too, since that's supposed to be the best seat for night rides. And it was so worth it...Beast at Night is just surreal. The forest, the sense of isolation, the pitch black tunnels and the sense of speed due to the fact it's a wooden coaster and feels out of control. There were also 2 fog machines: in the "ravine drop" after the first tunnel and right before the 2nd tunnel but no "hidden Beast" this time. No matter. The view from the 2nd lift was as epic as always, the helix was incredible, and one last bonus- it cooled us of with the lower temperatures in the woods & tunnels as well (my friend was wearing a thick hoodie expecting it to be colder today so that was great for him). What an awesome ride. Diamondback and Banshee are awesome additions, and during the daytime they may be better, but at night, no matter how much strobe lighting you add, Beast just curbstomps everything else in the park due to its location and the fact it's a wooden coaster so it feels out of control. Dear Cedar Fair, if you let RMC Iron Horse Beast due to complaints of "BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE AIRTIME AND DOES NOTHING!!!"...I will never visit ANY of your parks again. Though I at this point don't think that will happen (only Six Flags has really done it so far). Oh, stay away from Racer too. It may just need a re-track or something though (was rough back in May, Beast however was very smooth for a woodie). Score: 11/10!!! After Beast, it was time to head home on a epic finale. As we walked past the Eiffel Tower, I spotted a blue coaster car up ahead. You can probably guess what ride it was from. I looked on and thought "What was supposed to dethrone Beast and become the greatest wooden coaster ever has been reduced...to a Haunt Prop." Now for Pros & Cons... PROS +Epic Night Rides (especially Beast) +Awesome Ride Crews +The Haunt Props were pretty cool +Cool Haunt Actors as well, at least the ones I saw. The didn't try to mess with me though...guess it's 'cuz I'm a dude. CONS -A bit too much fog -Lines for food moved SUPER...SLOW... Well, I hope you enjoyed this trip report. Comments and questions welcome. EDIT: Oops. As for that gift my sister got me, it was a $5 set of roller coaster...drink coasters. Apparently from 2010 or so (The Diamondback one is CG, and Invertigo has its old paint job). Still cool though, and she also is letting me keep her skeleton key she bought.

The lunch food lines were long, but the food was good! Dining plan was definitely still on.

Mr. Jdawg1998, What are you talking about? I found this year's event to be fantastic. Especially around midnight the actors were so full of energy and really got into it. Nightmare Alley was easily the highlight of the night. But, I found Killmart's theme and design to be terrible. I may not have ever met you before, but I can already tell we have completely different views and opinions on things. Sincerely, Mr. CoasterGeek101.

I've seen that photo before. Every time I see the sign that says "Re-modeled: Not as rough as last season!" I just about lose it with laughter. What a way to market your offseason maintenance!

^Exactly why i didn't go Friday nor Saturday. It's a new year and there could be slips. Best character is next week or the week after (hint hint nudge nudge KIC Meetup)

If you look at the markup of www.visitkingsisland.com itself, "King's Island" appears multiple times. (The erroneous text isn't visible on the page in normal web browsers because it is replaced with graphics by the page's style sheet.)

Very light day today. Working on my 100 Banshee ride! Sent from a signal coming out of the Vega system.

I hear you can purchase a suitable vehicle for such a lifestyle at McCluskey Chevrolet...

To me, that's simple. Texas Giant was wood. New Texas Giant is steel. Totally different experiences. I count Texas Giant. Since new Texas Giant is neither Volcano: The Blast Coaster nor The Matterhorn nor a hyper nor giga, I still don't count it.

Welcome to KIC! I believe the season long dining plan lasts the season long.

That sounds like it would be fun and all, but I'll see the USA in A Different Kind of Car.

Heard of Chester, the Old Coney Island, Ludlow Lagoon, and Lesourdsville, great old parks, and across the nation slipping away from society, still love Chattanooga TN has a great gem of a park with a water ride that is still in the Lake. Memories, and the only one I can say I've been to is New Coney incarnation after 1971, and Lesourdsville/ Americana, out of the Cincinnati Parks. Some of the rides and attractions that would have been nice to seen. But so thankful we had what was Spawned by the success of the Coney Island and selling to Taft, and creating Kings Island, not the same, but lucky and blessed it was created.

It seems that with the now common grammar checking tools, this error is happening far more often.

Also realize it was Walt Disney who made amusement parks "respectable" places--not seedy, attracting "disreputable" types and full of real or perceived dangers. The typical post World War II pre-Disney park was not a place most "proper" people went. We can pretend that America, then or now, is a classless society, but doing so doesn't make it so. As society changes, this is particularly so. One of the saddest and most insightful pieces I've ever read is here: http://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/20140913-shrinking-middle-class-takes-a-toll-on-retailers.ece Consider that. And its effect on parks as well. From a personal standpoint, my working class family was far too poor to go to Disneyland...which was in California--a place so far away and so exotic, it may as well have been Mars in terms of accessibilty. It would be 1999 before I sat foot in a Disney property...for many, many reasons. Even now, for many of those same reasons, I vastly prefer Califormia Disney to Florida Disney. Disney was/is aimed at the middle to upper classes. One reason their parks are so highly successful, one few will admit, is their de facto exclusion of the poor, the downtrodden, the unhappy and, largely, even the annoying. If anything, recent trends show the Disney organization is well aware of this, and exploring it to the benefit of the corporate bursar. The lodging industry does the same thing. For a bit more, the customer can associate with her own kind and not have to encounter the economy lodging type. For a lot more, one can be ritzy. Terp, more comfortable at Red Roof than Hilton, and at Marriott than the Ritz. He's funny like that (living in an early 1950's apartment building in a less than ritzy part of DC, but not in the perceived "hood"--is an example. Driving a Subaru, and not a Mercedes, Audi, BMW or even Cadillac is another. And yet, he adores Waffle House!)

Heh. I just put on my The Beast comic book cover style t-shirt I bought at the park earlier this summer and noticed at the very top it says "King's Island Creative Team." So, I think the news media can be forgiven for that mistake. In all the years I've known of Kings Island (so, my whole life pretty much), I never noticed it shouldn't have an apostrophe until I saw things about it here on KIC forums.

I liked Skeleton Crew, but I strongly preferred Cirque to it. I saw it twice tonight. The first time I saw it I was actually kind of disappointed. It felt like a backyard circus version of Cirque. The second time I saw it I liked it a lot better. The timing was better, the performers had a better groove, and the audience was really into it. Each time there was a huge round of applause at the end, so I guess that's what really matters. It ain't about impressing Ryan. It's about the thousands of others who pay their hard earned money to go see it. Oh, and there's is actually a returning cast member from Cirque in Skeleton Crew. You'd never guess who it is.

And, don't forget, some people GOTTA drink. If the park was truly so concerned about alcohol, they wouldn't sell it. Paramount tried that for a while. Dried out the corporate till more than they liked.

Yep. I think the best way to have accurate wait time estimates would be to stop "eyeballing" the queue and guesstimating, but instead keeping count of how many people are in line at any given moment and dividing by expected hourly capacity. This would be far more accurate and could easily be kept updated on a screen, but would require additional technology or additional staffing.

B&M can keep their hands well off of Mr. Toomer's babies, thanks.

(I'm STILL trying to believe I got a 2015 Six Flags Gold Pass--good for admission and parking at all Six Flags dry parks--for less than the cost of two days parking alone or a single day admission at NJFTP! from Six Flags New England!)

We discussed that last night while in line for The Beast. She has a Gold Pass this year, and I think I have her sold on going Platinum in 2015. Brian is wanting to go also as he's never been so it will be a great time for sure. I will be requesting that day when bidding for 2015 PTO begins for sure. Hopefully, another trip to Kings Dominion to ride Intimidator 305 and a trip to NJFTP to get her on El Toro is in the works for 2015 also.

Pencil in a date for her at Cedar Point next year. I think it's called Coastermania.

I was at the park last night and thought it was pretty calm. From my experience, any event that is going to be at night with a higher volume of teens/young adults, there will always be a high police/security presence. Less parental supervision means someone has to babysit the crowd because it is natural for young people to push the rules and boundaries. I would hope they would never release the number of security/police that is present in the park. Doing so could cause more harm than good. I thought they had a well balanced security/guest ratio last night. As Haunt goes on and crowds increase, I would suspect security would increase. I have only heard the park use the PA system for weather related things and know it is effective. They do a great job relaying that type of information to park guests. I will presume if a situation occured that could jeopardize the safety and well being of park guests, it would be as effective. I am sure a plan is in place if such an event would occur. I have gone to the park since 1974 (yes, I am old). I have yet to have an incident occur where I have ever felt my safety was in jeopardy. I have seen security handle a variety of circumstances and have always thought they handled things quickly and effectively. Most incidence have been people fighting. With all honesty, the amount of times I have gone to KI in the 40 years I have gone, I have not seen excessive issues. I saw more issues pre Cedar Fair days than now, but definitely never anything excessive.

Slaughterhouse was great as always. Is it REALLY a completely new experience? No. Not in the same way that a truly new Haunt would be. Yes, the layout changed, but you have the same themes and characters, and even many of the same props. It seemed longer though. That said, I preferred last year's version, perhaps due to the sheer disbelief that the park could fit that much stuff into what was then Stunt Crew Grill. Besides the "new" Slaughterhouse, I didn't do any Haunts that I hadn't done before. Wolf Pack was better than last year. Club Blood was... Club Blood. Anyone who's gone through it will know that's all I need to say. I am curious to go through Madame Fatale's again. In 2012, it was superb, but when I went through it in 2013, it was understaffed and many of the surprises were ruined as a result. Oddly enough, Haunt 2012 seems like only yesterday, while Haunt 2013 seems eons ago. Perhaps it's because my visit for Haunt in 2013 was rainy and miserable, and is the second worst day I've ever had at Kings Island.

KillMart was a big yawn-fest. I'm not a fan of zombies in general, and it was a pretty good example of why. They just aren't particularly intriguing. Slaughterhouse on the other hand was the only house I went to tonight I can unequivocally say I enjoyed. Rather than simply people wearing costumes hiding behind corners, etc, jumping out to scream at you periodically (which was the norm for the other handful of houses and trail I did tonight), Slaughterhouse had some actual acting, characters into their roles, interacting with you for more extended periods rather than just sneaking up and being in your face for a couple seconds. It was fun and creepy.

If you use #kingsisland during Haunt, your picture can be used on FUNTV. Princess Sparkles was featured twice. I only saw this one.

Details of police/security staffing aren't (and shouldn't be) made public. If there is an emergency, guests should listen to park associates for instructions. Onlookers are there because it's human nature to be curious. The park police department currently doesn't release records of incidents at the park. Related litigation and legislation is pending in Ohio. No.

I don't think any of the Hot Blooded crew are repeats from Cirque, unfortunately. Although there was a brief moment when I thought, "holy crap, Julien (long haired clown) shaved his head!" He was doing some tumbling and acts in a similar way, but it's not him. Edited to add: Nearly missed the second Skeleton Crew show of the night. Missed the beginning of Blood Drums when I was composing my review of Skeleton Crew, so I decided to wait for a later showing of Blood Drums and try to get on Tombstone Terror-Tory. I ended up more or less trapped, unable to easily get out of the line until 9:25. Quick jaunt across to the Showplace tho, and I even got a good seat. I liked the Dueling Banjo skeletons at Tombstone even though that was all I got to see so far of it. Nearly saw a fight break out after the show, apparently someone dared to comment on some lady's usage of her cell phone during the show and she wasn't happy about it. Two issues with the smoke effects. One, it makes every smoker in the park (it seems) think they can light up wherever, including in line. Also, I can't see much other than the flames of Blood Drums even though I'm right across the plaza standing on the concrete wall. I'm wondering if I know one of the Blood Drums fire performers. There's a friend of a friend who does a similar act, which she's performed at a July 4th fireworks shoot at that friend's place. Edited again: talked to my husband, the FOAF doesn't perform anymore so it's not her. Two things I really like about Haunt. I'm not really into the houses, but most people are here for them so lines are short for rides. Just rode Banshee, DT, and Delirium all nearly walk-on even though the park is fairly packed. Also, they have new interesting FUNTV. They were showing clips from old black and white B horror movies, and I saw the video for the Ghostbusters theme song. Just after midnight. I discovered purgatory by sitting near the front of the train for Tombstone. Ages to get on a train, ages after you get off. I should definitely have stopped at the restrooms first. Edited again, it's now the next day. Tombstone was a great disappointment after all that wait. It would have been disappointing regardless. There is next to no variety on the long path back to the park, boxes every ten feet alternating left and right, often people lurking (visibly) behind them. Outside of the man who did the spiel on the train, no one seemed to be actually in a character other than "teenager in an old west zombie costume halfheartedly trying to startle people." I suppose they can be forgiven for their lack of enthusiasm, because I lost all of mine in the time I was standing out in the woods in the cold waiting for the disclaimer to be repeated over and over (could this be moved to the train PA so we all get it at once, and not create that second line?), and they had all been out there a lot longer. I also thought the hijacking would have been a lot more interesting than it was. Afterward, I went on to a station wait for a spectacular night ride on The Beast. The way the smoke lingers out in the woods around The Beast is my favorite usage of the effect, it makes it extra spooky. (My second favorite smoke effect was when I rode Drop Tower. It was cool to rise above the smoke near the ground, then after a bit rise to a second atmospheric barrier where the smoke had collected, and pass through it like a cloud) I finished up the night with a ride on Adventure Express (I was sort of hoping they added something to the theming, but alas no). I got a train entirely to myself, front seat. I particularly love that coaster at night. I'm looking forward to going again on Sunday to have more time to check out the decorations and theming in the light of day.

This facade is... WOW! https://twitter.com/kingsislandpr/status/512992324360896512 Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk